Russian art glass

Russian history art glass on begins in the era of Kievan Rus, when in many ancient Russian cities appeared the first master skies, making smalts for mosaics and simple women's jewelry - beads, bracelets,rings. This tradition was interrupted duringMongol-Tatar invasion. And therefore in XVII century, when there was a need for glass, withhad to turn to the experience of European masters ditch.

An important role in the process of formation of the Russian artistic glassmaking fell to the lot ofMailovsky factory, founded in 1668. Ryahouse with foreigners, Russians also worked at the plant masters who creatively mastered the advanced experience of European glassmaking. Got here development of the two main schools of the Baroque era. od one of them starts from Venetian masters, working in the technique of free blowing (gut Noah), the other continues the tradition of Bohemian glass-carvers. The gut technique was quite early mastered by Russian masters, many of whomsubsequently founded their own acceptance. Engraving remains for some time was the privilege of foreign craftsmen and only in XVIII century was developed at the leading glass factories of the country.

The rarest are "funny cubes"Izmailovsky plant, made by Andrey Lerin. His methods were widely used innative masters throughout XVIII century, especially in the manufacture of various vessels in the form of horses, bears, birds.

During the XVII - XVIII centuries in Russia86 glass factories were founded, some of them exist to this day (Gusevsky, Dyatkovsky). Most factories based in XVII - XVIII centuries, made window glass andfree-form products of simple shapes from bottled earth flaked glass - shtofs, bottles, jugs. mnosome of them have become works of folk art pieces, after they were painted with enamel in special workshop. Here and biblical jets (Joseph the Beautiful, Adam and Eve), and history cal (Gangut battle), and the theme of the holiday, and lush floral ornaments in conjunction with animal pictures.

Russian art glass of the 17th - 19th centuries.

In the first half XVIII century in RussiaThere were three main glass engraving centers. Petersburg was the leader. Pe collectionTerburg engraved glass beginsfrom modest, still student work began XVIII century and ends with virtuoso workmi Petersburg engravers of the end XVIII century. All works are made in the style of Russian variant and baroque. Cubes with the image of the Russian double-headedeagle, monograms and portraits of monarchs. in sulfurone century there is also a significant the number of cubes with images of parades, hunting whose and pastoral scenes against the backdrop of architectural landscape.

Provincial engraving centersput in the collection of works of mastersMaltsov and Nemchinov factories. Especially aboutthe Maltsov family was flourishing, the head of Vasily Maltsov in 1730 became the ownercement of a small plant in the Mozhaisk district. K contsu century in the hands of this family has already been15 glass factories are concentrated. Maltsov engraved glass was designed for mediumlayers of the Russian people - merchants, officials.Therefore, in its ornamentation, baroque principlesand the problems turned out to be refracted throughlens of popular perception. Very common ondedicatory inscriptions in Maltsov glass. The masters also turned to the "gallant" plot, but in theirinterpretation, he received a popular coloring.

Similar in its artisticcontrol was the glass of the Nemchinov factories,who in the third quarter XVIII century belonged to several factories in the Smolensk province.It is noteworthy that all Nemchinov engraverswere exclusively serfs, and glassmade to order only.

In the last third XVIII century Russian glassdivision is developing at a particularly rapid pace.The number of factories is growing, their sizes are increasing. Glassmaking becomes a prestigious occupation, andRussian nobility starts glass on their estatesenterprises. Among the owners of factoriesstny princes Potemkin and Golitsyn, Count Orlov.

Leading role in the production of artvein glass preserves the state-owned factory, whichry from 1792 became known as the Imperial factory. Its products were orientedmainly for the decoration of the court wouldthat. Not inferior to him in terms of product quality based ny in 1764, the Nikolsko-Petrovsky plant for squire Bakhmetiev.

The appearance of art glass last tre ty XVIII century is determined by the style of classicism. At this time, the asrange of products that have become less universal greasy. Table setting became more complicated, and onthe meaning of each item became more limited. The first wine sets appear, withstanding out of decanters and glasses. Made from glassoil dishes, tureens, pots, spice bowls,perfume bottles, snuff boxes, etc. Increasing the role of glass in the interior. Inner chambers yard tsov are decorated with vases, candelabra, chandeliermi, stenniks, mirrors, and are also madefurniture inserts.

Significant changes are also taking place in nike glass manufacturing. In addition to the previously knownbottle green and colorless glass according tois also colored (red, green, blue, purple, milky). Even though the Russiansmasters learned how to cook colored glass also in early XVIII century, its widespread use falls on the last third 18th century and largely stimulated by the developments of M. Lomono owl.

Glass decorating techniques are also changing.Engraving gives way to painting with gold, silverbromine, enamels. Popular in the 70s and 80s XVIII century there was colorless glass with fine paintingsue white enamel with purple.

It still bears a compromise in many respects.rakter, as its rocaille plot (bosquet groups) is combined with a strict classical form and interpretation of ornaments.

Forgotten techniques are being revived, such asfiligree (Venetian thread). It is used to decorate the legs of glasses and glasses, and sometimes covers the entire body of carafes. Colorlessglass with gold and silver painting editionetsya mainly Imperial and Bakhmetevsky plants. Their products are differentfriend only by the fact that in Bakhmetiev glass there are more often gilding is combined with silvering andtransparent enamels.

Products of the Imperial factory were more consistent in stylistic terms, they are more restrained in form and ornamentation.This difference is especially noticeable in colored glass,whose palette at the Imperial Factory was much richer, as well as ornamentation.Here, in addition to monograms, wreaths, garlands, oftenyou can see mythological compositions and landscapes.

Stained glass has been widely used indesign of lighting fixtures - chandeliers,sconces, candelabra, where it was combined with gilded bronze. A large role in the interior is played by host of mirrors and reflectors, on the surfaces ofwhich were often engraved with allegorical figuresry or characters of the Italian comedy.

Russian glass XIX century is extremely differenttea variety of forms and decorativetricks. At this time, the requirements for the quality of the material and is constantly being improved its production technology. production stack la becomes more and more industrial characterter. The number of factories is increasing significantly. If at the beginning XIX century in Russia there were 114 factoriesDov, then in 1889 there were already 258 of them, but only 57of them produced "glassware".

First third of XIX century is rightfully considered menem of the heyday of Russian art glassdelia. For the first time, professional artists began to be involved in the management and work. On theImperial glass factory A. Voronikhin, Thomas de Thomon, C. Rossi, I. Ivanov are developing whether sketches of ceremonial services, vases, tabledecorations that were grandiosetheir size and the courage of the technicalopinion. Many of them were intended forsolutions of royal residences. All artisticworks of the first third 19th century mainly from new, just mastereddark colorless lead crystal with diamond noah edge. Strict forms of products, coldflickering facets of geometric nature naimore clearly expressed aesthetic principles empire. Very often monti crystal products were cast into gilded bronze, which was also favorite material of this stylistic direction.

Central role in the design of artvein glass of the first third 19th century occupies heroic theme of the war of 1812. Especially brightit is expressed in the first crystal products withmilk medallions, which were placedportraits of war heroes - Kutuzova, Platova, Vit genstein. The performers of these portraits werepainters of the Imperial Porcelain FactoryP. Rokshtul and the master of the Bakhmetevsky factory A.Vershinin. Heroic theme got sosame reflection in engraved glass. This ismainly small items: glasses, glasses, plates, which reproduced kacartoons by I. Terebnev, I. Ivanov, and severallater, in the 1830s, the bas-reliefs of F. Tolstoy.

Stained glass was rarely used in the Empire era. Interest in him again arose only in the second quarter XIX century. At the first All-Russian exhibition in 1829, it was noted that "colored steel things that are out of use,and now again in great fashion, it seemed as ifadorned with sapphires, emeralds, topazes,rubies the purest water especially adorableopal and rezeopaline products". On the samethe exhibition showed vases of the "new imageretenii", made of two-layer glass(colorless and golden ruby), mounted in gilded bronze.

Empire style works of the Imperialthe water was exuberant. Charakthorny were sets, large vases, candelabry, mounted in gilded bronze and additionallined with gilded porcelain. Spreadingreceived also vases with drawings in the "Neo-Greek style".

At the Bakhmetevsky and Orlovsky factories,more modest products were made, often usedused a combination of color and colorlessglass, diamond edge and gilding with silvering. In painting plant motifs interspersed from architectural views all kinds of haraktera. Chinese plots are popular at this timeyou, who then remained faithful to the original sourceku, then combined with purely classic motives.

By the middle of the XIX century glass production takes on an industrial character. Meanthe technical capabilities of glassDelia, the palette of colored glass has expanded. AT1840s production of dark cherries begins new " copper ruby"and uranium glass of two types - "green" and "yellow". Opaque "silenced" glasses are spreading everywhere, reminiscent of turquoise, jasper, lapis lazuli, etc.

At the Dyatkovo plant in 1849,vases and decanters "mosaic work". Further the technique of coloring is developing. Only use both two and three layers of glass.

Among the stylistic diversity of the 40-50s XIX centuries, the most stable werewhether neo-gothic and rococo, which are especiallywhich appeared in the products of the Imperial Factory Yes.

Provincial glassmaking is practicallydid not know a clear stylistic orientation.Here the masters went more from the material, technology,functionality and therefore their work was moremore complete and clear.

At this time, there is a return to free living forms, to colored ornaments, scattersledge on the surface of objects, most oftenmade of colored glass. It's interesting thatdirectly gothic and rocaille mochiyou were rarely used in Russian glassand interpreted very broadly.

In Russia, the second half 19th century situation in artistic glassmaking was complicated by the fact thatthat such leading factories as Imperial andBakhmetevsky, based on non-commercialbasis, become unprofitable, their production is shrinking. Leadership goes to privateenterprises for which the requirements of the marketwere decisive.

Since the 1870s, there has been a significant increasethe volume of production of crystal with a rich diamond facet is increasing. Increasing interest in engravingbathroom glass. leadership in its production and quality belonged to the Dyatkovo plant.

At this time, interest intraditional folk art, imitation of which resulted in the so-called "Russianstyle. "He also touched on glass, which is oftenbegan to decorate with polychrome enamel,drawing motifs from embroidery, carving or painting on tree. On the edge XIX - XX centuries formednew stylistic direction, which receivedthe name in Russia is "modern". However, in Russianglass, he did not receive any independent development. On Imperial and Gusevfactories produced unique productsDenia, made in the manner of the famous French artist Emile Galle.

Soviet glass, as an independent artistic phenomenon, made itself known only in the 1940s. years XX century. Before that, at domestic factories produced only products repeating woodration samples or everyday utensils. Forward to glass, as to modern artistic V. Mukhina turned to this material, on whose initiative in 1940 it was created in Leningrad experimental art laba workshop designed to provide the glass industry with new modern samples. The slogan of this time was a new imagery, in which was based primarily on the functionthe nature of forms, manufacturability,sense of material, limited decor. ThisSoviet glass remains faithful to the principles and until now.

In the 1950s - early 1960s on glassfactories of the country were created artistic lalaboratory, where professional artists came, through whose efforts the products of eachthe plant has acquired its own artistic specificity.Modern glass has taken one of the leading places in the ensemble of Soviet arts and crafts.art. Its feature is that thebot over mass functional thing painmost artists combine with creative claims in the field of purely decorative. It's nahodit expression in exhibition compositions, where artists with particular clarity declare your art program. It is also noteworthy that Soviet glass artists activelyrespond to all the events of our time and manygo are working on creating thematic, civilworks given in their pathos. AT in their works, glass appears before us as inexpressible scooped up in its possibilities plasticmaterial, by means of which almost any task can be solved. This period is markedactive search for a new, modern stylela, through the gradual overcoming of the old methods, and sometimes through their complete denial. In pro In the works of V. Mukhina and B. Smirnov of the same years, tradition gives way to innovation. Here is another measure of the useful and beautiful. Beauty is seen in simplicity and naturalness of functionalforms, in the limitations of laconic decor.

Second half of the 1960s and first halfThe 1970s was marked by increased interest in decorative form. Large ensembles are created from glass, where the unitary form acts only as one of the components. Originthere is a kind of aestheticization of householdmeta which is now meant to be whaton its basis to create a poetic "abouttimes of life. "Indicative in this regard are the ensembles"Festive table" B. Smirnov and "hospitableny "D. and L. Shushkanov. They are widely usedthe traditions of folk free glass were used, which were actively rethought in the 1970sare created by Soviet artists who createfundamentally new works on this basis.The inspired plasticity of V. Shevchenko is remembered.

Works in crystal are also marked by innovation. The traditional diamond facet in the works of Filatov and M. Grobar acquires a new imagery. It acts not only as an element of decor, but also has a formative function.

The second half of the 1970s characterizesdue to the fact that decorative glass actively invades the public interior, it becomes an emotional the main dominant of the exhibition exposition. ATglass solves problems that were previously considered exclusive privilege of fine art kusstva. The usual hierarchy of mate is brokenrials and technology. In the works of A. Stepanova, B. Muratova, B. Fedorova, N. Tikhomirova crystal acquires the previously alien freedom of plasticity, all the richness of the properties inherent in it is usedvano to create figurative-associativeny images. Thin, hand-blown glass with chandeliers and gold painting, which is successfully created by E. Vikhrova and Y. Manelis, distinguishes itself with intimacy. In molded glass, the floor is highly spiritualny compositions by D. and L. Shushkanov, where virtuoso technique turns glass into a genuine jewel.

Soviet art glass of the lasttime, in all the richness and diversity of the creative individuals that create it, appearsbefore contemporaries as surprisingly intactnew phenomenon. In him careful attitude to the national tradition is combined with a bold innovator property, and poetic mood - with a highcitizenship.

Particularly noteworthy are glassware made by the Imperial Glass Factory, the Maltsov Factory, and private workshops. Sometimes glass is of historical value, and many collectors choose to purchase it. Our collection contains a huge selection of Russian glass, including items of museum significance. We note the features of Russian glass antiquities:

• handmade;
• original painting;
• complex shapes of glass products;
• rich ornament.

Glass produced in the 19th - early 20th centuries is part of the cultural heritage. We present to your attention the true masterpieces of glass production, superior in artistic value to similar works of European masters of that period. This is the reason for the high interest of foreigners in antique dishes - we often receive requests for glass from collectors from Europe.

How to buy Russian glass?

If you are interested antique glass, you would like to purchase an unusual piece of antiquity for yourself or as a gift, the specialists of our salon are ready to advise you and offer glass products that meet your preferences. You can send your request by email to [email protected] or [email protected] and our experts are ready to answer your questions by phone and in person. We will be glad to see you in our salon on Kutuzovsky Prospekt.

In the 17th century, the intensive development of crafts led to the emergence of the first manufactories. The growth of commodity production contributed to the revival of trade, linking previously isolated economic regions into a system of a single all-Russian market. The reunification of Russia with Ukraine and Belarus was an event of great political significance. It contributed to the expansion of ties between Muscovite Rus and the countries of Europe.
In the Russian life of the 17th century, the need for a new hygienic and beautiful material was already felt. The first who took up the production of glass in Russia was a cannon maker, a Swede, Julius Koyet, who arrived in Moscow on March 2, 1630. In 1632, he invited the experienced "glass" craftsman Paul Kunkel, who had previously "started" a glass factory in Sweden, to cooperate. He helped to choose a place for the future plant, and in 1634 Koyet received a charter to "establish" a glass factory in the village of Dukhanino, Dmitrovsky district (not far from Moscow). The production developed in difficult financial conditions, changed quite a few owners, and was finally closed in 1760, when the craftsmen "by their own petition" and the decision of the Manufactory College were assigned to Akim Maltsov's Gusevsky plant.
The fate of another private glass factory built by the Swede Ivan (Johann) von Sveden in the Ivanovo volost of the Kashirsky district was unsuccessful. In 1666, he brought from overseas, among other specialists, "crystal and Vinitsa glassware craftsmen." But in 1668, the owner died without completing the construction of the "Vinitsa glassware factory", although in 1697 its buildings still existed.

An outstanding role in the history of Russian artistic glassmaking was played by the plant, founded in 1668 on the initiative of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in the village of Izmailovo near Moscow (now the territory of Moscow). It was here that Russian artistic glass was born, and the school of Russian glassmaking was created. In this complex process, along with Russian and Ukrainian masters, foreign specialists also took part. Many of them have lived in Russia almost all their lives and found a second home here. The plant was built in 1668 by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, was under the control of the Secret Order, then the order of the Great Court, and in 1710 was transferred to the Aptekarsky Order and closed soon after. This enterprise produced “amusing and figured glass about the use of the great sovereign”, “crystal” (i.e., very clear colorless glass) dishes with engraving and gilding, simple products made of colorless and green glass, and after 1710 - pharmaceutical dishes .
Information about another Russian glass factory of the 17th century, located in the village of Voskresensky, Chernogolovskaya volost, is extremely scarce. Neither the dates of its existence nor the nature of production are known. Data about him refer only to 1687, when he was already operating and his products were sold at the Moscow Gostiny Dvor. Among the products of the plant were glasses, brothers, lamps. Apparently, it was a kind of branch of the Izmailovsky plant, since their products are listed in one inventory of the village of Izmailovo.

Thus, at the end of the 17th century, there were three glass factories near Moscow, which, despite their modest size, could not provide the whole country with glass.
In 1691, the construction of another state-owned glass factory was undertaken. Its device was entrusted to the “trading man of the living room of a hundred” Yakov Romanov, who built the premises for the plant at the Tainitsky Gates in Moscow. But this attempt ended in complete failure, since Romanov was unable to find craftsmen and establish production.
After that, the Moscow administration started the construction of a new mirror factory, Vorobyevsky, inviting "commissar" Brockhausen from Berlin for this purpose. He arrived in Moscow in 1705, along with six French "mirror" masters hired by him, and possibly brought some of the equipment with him. In 1706, the plant was already operating, albeit with interruptions. Visiting craftsmen, apparently, did not immediately adapt to local raw materials. The dimensions of the mirrors, which are quite significant for the 18th century, are unusual: some of them reached four arshins in length and two in width; many were in glass frames. The end of the activity of this plant was very instructive. In 1710, it was leased to Willim Leid under the patronage of A.D. Menshikov. In 1712, Leid received a large order for the execution of "large, medium and smaller hands of bells and 330 carafins" for a total of 126 rubles. However, the order was partially fulfilled, and during the investigation it turned out that the factory's tools were hidden in the German Quarter in the yard of the teacher Andrey Martynov. These tools and the materials remaining at the plant were sent to St. Petersburg on 10 carts, accompanied by dragoons.
From 1706 to 1718, 9 small enterprises were built in the Trubchevsky, Sevsky and Karachevsky counties (now the Bryansk region). Produced here "slo simple with bubbles" and "white and simple slo".

The 18th century is a time of active development of Russian glassmaking. New production centers are being formed, which retained their leading position throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

I. Petersburg
At the beginning of the XVIII century, the formation of the St. Petersburg center of glassmaking begins, with which the magnificent flowering of the Russian school of engraved glass is associated.
Yamburg and Zhabinsky plants.
Initially, factories were opened in the city of Yamburg and in the village of Zhabine, Yamburg district. It was possible to find a message that in 1705 master Sheper, together with master Kifater, examined “pleasant places to blow glass near the village of Syabino, 12 versts below Yamburkh.” They recognized the place as very suitable, and master Kifater drew up a plant project. Menshikov was mentioned in 1717 as the property of A.D. Menshikov, who thought to give them at the mercy of "eager people". Both plants were owned by Menshikov, since among the huge land grants in Ingermanland, he was given the city of Yamburg and its environs. After Opals A. D. Menshikov, the enterprise went to the state treasury. The Yamburg plant was larger than the Zhabinsky and more perfect in organization of production. It produced mirror and window glass, as well as "crystal dishes" with polishing and engraving, which accounted for almost a third of all products. From 1713 For a year, the foreign master Johann Mennart was engaged in the engraving of dishes, who left his craft in 1723 due to an eye disease. Russian engravers - apprentices Dementy Voilokov and Vasily Pivovarov, who eventually became outstanding masters. The Yamburg factories mainly served the palace economy, supplying window panes, mirrors and "crystal" dishes for the royal residences under construction. Some of the products were sold at the factories themselves and in the palace shop. At the end of 1730, the demand for mirrors and glass declined. This is explained by the fact that Emperor Peter II temporarily transferred the royal residence to Moscow (1727-1730). In 1730, the factories were leased to the English merchant Willim Elmsel, who in 1733-1735 transferred equipment and craftsmen to his own factories in St. Petersburg and on the Lava River.
Petersburg glass factory
The history of the St. Petersburg State Factory, which was the leader of Russian glassmaking throughout the 18th century, began somewhat unusually. For the first time, its existence on the Fontanka River, almost in the center of St. Petersburg, was known in 1738, when its founder V. Elmzel died. It also turned out that the tools and craftsmen of the Yamburg factory were transferred here. Judging by the inventories, it was not a glass factory proper, but rather a workshop, where they only cut, polished and engraved glass products, but they also blown glass at the Lavinsky factories. After both plants were transferred to the treasury, Petersburg gradually becomes a plant in the full sense of the word. Dishes were blown on it, mirror glasses were poured and they were immediately polished and engraved. Part of the production was carried out by order of the royal court, the other went on sale. They traded glass in a shop on Nevsky Prospekt, as well as directly at the factory.
In 1774, the plant itself was transferred to the village of Nazya, Shlisselburg district, and a workshop was left in St. Petersburg for “grinding dishes and cutting coats of arms and monograms on it.” But even in 1780 this decision was not implemented. Thus, the history of the St. Petersburg plant shows that the common practice in Europe of separating the production of tableware and its cold processing, despite its obvious benefits, did not take shape in Russia.
Quite a lot of products of the Petersburg factory have been preserved. Basically, these are carved goblets, glasses, glasses, shtofs, teapots. They clearly testify to the flourishing of the engraving art at that time. The carvers of the plant could engrave on glass not only coats of arms and monograms. They did an excellent job with complex rocaille ornaments, architectural landscapes, portraits and allegorical compositions, gallant and pastoral scenes. Each of the engravers had their favorite themes and characteristic methods of work. From all this, a unique image of the art glass of the St. Petersburg plant is formed. The presence of foreign carvers at the factory was inevitably reflected in the nature of the carved decor, in many respects close to Bohemian, Silesian and partly Saxon. This "clash" of different schools also gave the glass of the St. Petersburg factory its originality.
In 1777, by decree of Catherine II, the state-owned factories in the village of Nazya (formerly Petersburg) were given “for particular maintenance to the illustrious prince” G.A. Potemkin, who turned out to be a generous and attentive host. The prince transferred the plant to the lands of the monastery of St. Alexander Nevsky in the village of Ozerki, which is four miles from St. Petersburg. After the death of G.A. Potemkin in 1792, the plant was again taken over by the treasury and became known as the Imperial. It has always remained the largest and most equipped glass production in Russia, a true "trendsetter in glass fashion."

Russian glass

R In the early spring of 1630, during the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, the Swede Julius Koyet arrived in Moscow. He was supposed to teach Russian craftsmen how to cast cannons. The cannon master was well received. The king immediately granted a silver ladle weighing two pounds, "digged velvet", "good taffeta", forty sables and a horse with a saddle and a bridle. Coyet liked this reception, and he decided to stay in Russia altogether. It turned out that he also knows the glass craft well. Koyet undertook to build a glass factory in Russia.

In those days, we almost did not know the glass. Even in the royal palace the windows were mica. They ate from copper or pewter utensils. The poor managed with wooden bowls. Coyet's suggestion came in handy.

A suitable place was found in the Moscow district, not far from Voskresensk. Here they built a factory - several pine huts with melting furnaces and pipes. In 1635, the plant began to produce pharmaceutical glassware: flasks, jars, retorts, bottles. Such dishes were very expensive. For the price paid for the great glass jar, you could buy a calf.

Under Alexei Mikhailovich, a second plant was built - in the village of Izmailovo, near Moscow. It was already a state, state-owned plant. He made not apothecary utensils, but suleys (bottles and decanters), pewters (jugs), stavets (ladles), mugs, brothers (ladles for wine), glasses, glasses, lamps and flycatchers. The pride of the Izmailovsky plant was the fathom (two-meter) glass cast by him. The miracle glass was cunningly decorated with glass threads; she could hold two buckets of wine.

Under Peter I and Elizabeth, several more glass factories were built. Russian glassblowers have already appeared. Foreigners were reluctant to share their experience with them, tried not to reveal their secrets to them. Fortunately, there were inventors among the Russians who not only independently discovered the ancient secrets of glassmaking, but also improved them.

The first of these inventors was M.V. Lomonosov. Everyone knows that Lomonosov wrote poems about glass (excerpts from the poem "Letter on the benefits of glass"):

... I sing praise before you in delight,
Not expensive stones, not gold, but glass ...
Dear child, beautiful glass.
Seeing the mortals, oh how they marveled at him!
Art was trying to find something like that.
And skill was successful in this matter:
Has exceeded the nature by the zeal.
That made life in the world happy for us:
From pure glass we drink wine and beer ...
Medicines that are stored and made up in glass;
In glass alone they are harmless...
In the viewing tubes the glass shows us
Koliko gave space to the heavens.
Just a lot of Suns shining in them,
How many motionless stars the night shows us clearly ...
Far to the end of the glass worthy of praise,
For which a whole year would hardly have gotten me ...

However, not everyone knows that Lomonosov himself brewed glass. He was not only a great physicist, chemist, geologist, mineralogist, astronomer, philosopher, historian, but also a wonderful glassmaker. In the first Russian chemical laboratory, Lomonosov produced more than 4,000 experimental glasses. These works formed the basis of factory methods for producing colored glasses.

O Once, at Count Shuvalov's, Lomonosov saw a mosaic portrait brought from Italy. He was delighted with a wonderful picture made up of multi-colored glass cubes. Is it really impossible to do the same wonderful things here in Russia? Lomonosov decided to take up the mosaic himself.

He had to start all over again, as if no one had done mosaics before him. Recipes for coloring glass were then kept secret, few craftsmen knew them abroad, and no one in Russia knew. In books one could read only about the most simple and well-known things. And about how to cook multi-colored glass, how to make cubes, how to fix them - all this was not said in the books. Lomonosov spent almost three years uncovering these secrets. He patiently made experiments, writing them down in a laboratory journal. During this time, he happened to melt glass more than two thousand times. Finally all the secrets were revealed. It could be taken for a mosaic.

Lomonosov's first mosaic was an icon made from 4,000 glass cubes. He then made mosaic portraits of Elizabeth and Catherine II. After that, he took up a huge - 42 square meters - mosaic painting "Poltava battle", which they wanted to decorate the wall of the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Such a large mosaic required a huge set of glass cubes of all colors. After all, the more shades at the disposal of the artist, the the best picture he can create. Suffice it to say that, for example, in the Vatican mosaic workshop of the Pope, cubes of twenty-eight thousand various shades. One only green color has four thousand tones - from salad to dense green, almost black. Need a lot keen eye to choose the most suitable from all these shades. A person unaccustomed to such work will not even notice the difference between neighboring shades: it is so elusive. And the master will notice. And from the many plates with glass cubes standing in front of him, he will choose the right one. Mosaic paintings are made for several years. They demand from the artist extraordinary thoroughness, endless patience.

Lomonosov worked on the Poltava Battle for almost five years and finished it shortly before his death. And then the picture suffered a sad fate. They didn't take her to the cathedral. A huge painting is missing.

More than 150 years have passed. The October Revolution took place. And then one day, while putting the cellars of the Academy of Sciences in order, the workers stumbled upon some large, very heavy boxes. There were many. One of them was opened - it contained a piece of a mosaic depicting the head of a Peter's soldier. In another box they found another piece of mosaic - the standard of Peter I. In the remaining boxes there were also pieces of mosaic. It was the "Poltava battle" cut into pieces.

Descendants appreciated the amazing work of Lomonosov. Pieces of the mosaic were carefully removed from the boxes, put together, and the pieces of glass that had fallen out were replaced with new ones. Now the magnificent glass picture, which reminds us of the glorious military deeds of the Russian army, has been brought back to life.

T There have always been many talented people in Russia, but there are few machines and various devices that facilitate and speed up work. And there were no machines at all in the Russian glass industry. in Russia until the 20th century. they only knew how to make dishes, bottles and window glass. A lot of mirror glass was ordered from abroad. There is nothing to say about optical glass: they did not know how to cook it at all. I had to work hard to catch up. Now all Russian glass factories have machines.

Glassmaking was a craft until recently. Now it has become a real science. But this does not mean at all that now the glazier no longer needs skill, talent. On the contrary, talent, art in this matter is now even more necessary than before.

The most difficult thing, of course, is to make glasses for a large telescope. This is like the highest, most stringent exam for glaziers. There were so few craftsmen who could polish such glasses that they can be listed by name. Such was, for example, Short. He lived over 200 years ago. It was a wonderful master real artist your business. Nobody could compare to him. Before his death, he broke all the polished lenses and mirrors. Alvino Clark, who lived in the 19th century, was also an amazing master. He made glasses for observatories all over the world.

Almost all such masters were self-taught, almost all of them fell into bondage to large optical firms and lived very poorly. But they did not give up their business, because they loved it.

These masters do not form one dynasty: the secret is easy to inherit, but the talent cannot be bequeathed. They can be compared, perhaps, with the great chess players. Both one and the other achieved success with their incredible perseverance, exerting all their strength. But a chess champion will play thousands of games, and a glazier will polish only a few large glasses in his whole life, which, long after the death of the master, will work flawlessly in telescopes. different countries, to serve as a silent glass monument of great labor ...

One of these famous masters- to the Englishman Grebb - glasses were ordered in 1912 for the new telescope of the Pulkovo Observatory. 10, 15 years have passed, and all the glasses were not ready. In 1930, the old master died a beggar, money for his funeral was collected by public subscription. And the question arose: to whom now to transfer the order?

The observatory turned to the famous German optical firm Zeiss. C.F. Zeiss was ready to get down to business: he had already stocked up a suitable piece of glass. Zeiss demanded 100,000 marks in gold for grinding and polishing. And he set one more indispensable condition: the deadline for completing the order is not indicated. He will try to do the job in two and a half years. But if it doesn't come out, it won't come out. Maybe you have to wait five years, maybe ten. What was to be done? Agree?

It was then that our Optical Institute suggested: before giving an answer to Zeiss, to see if there are such people in their country who could polish glasses for a telescope. And such a person really was found - one of the employees of the institute, physicist D.D. Maksutov, a man who devoted 30 years of his life to the construction of telescopes. As a boy, he made himself a telescope. Then he began to make small telescopes for schools, and then - mirrors and lenses for the most accurate optical instruments.

A special commission arranged a rigorous test for Maksutov's glasses: they were compared with similar glasses made by Zeiss. And what a surprise it was when they turned out to be no worse, and even better than Zeiss glasses. After that, there was, of course, no point in giving an order to Zeiss. We ourselves, on our own, began to build a new telescope. And it was done flawlessly.

So, almost by accident, it turned out that we were too modest, in vain did not trust our forces. There were people in Russia who were able to take on any task in glassmaking, to create not only excellent microscopes, but also the best, largest telescopes.

The material was prepared by P.A.KOSHEL
(Based on the book: Sveshnikov M.P. Secrets of glass. L.: Detgiz, 1955, 190 p.)

Artistic glass is a significant and worthy part of the national cultural heritage of Russia. This is one of the most ancient and widespread types of domestic arts and crafts, as well as one of the first and leading branches of the Russian art industry for almost four centuries now. Glass has been known in Eastern Europe since ancient times. Here, to the northern shores of the Black Sea (Pontus Euxinus - the Hospitable Sea), they brought a variety of glass products created by the masters of Alexandria, the Eastern Mediterranean and northern Italy. Archaeological excavations carried out by Russian scientists in the pre-revolutionary and Soviet times in the Black Sea ancient Greek colonial cities - Panticapaeum (Kerch), Nymphaeum, Chersonese, Olbia, Feodosia, Gorkippia (Anapa) and other cities, gave science a huge number of material monuments: balsams, dishes, bowls, jugs and other glass vessels dating from the period of the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. - I-II centuries. n. e. Local glass production appears here a little later than the middle of the 2nd century, which is confirmed by the presence of glass workshops in the settlement of Alma Kermen near Bakhchisarai, although, apparently, Roman craftsmen worked here (Shchapova, 1983. P. 135, 140). From the 10th century from Byzantium to Old Russian the state received large quantities of multi-colored smalts, and already at the end of the 10th century in Kyiv, in connection with the construction of the Tithesthe church, decorated with mosaics, there are local glass workshops. Moreover, it is interesting that ancient Russian glasses according to chemical composition and manufacturing technique, despite the relationship with the Byzantine, still differ from them. That is, at the beginning of the 11th century, when “the preservation of the mystery of glass was main feature in the policy of the Byzantines towards their Kievan counterparts”, in Kievan Rus already existed local glass production with its own recipe and melting technology. Thus, addition in Russia independent school glassmaking, and specifically in the Kiev region, was due, firstly, to the presence of a rich raw material base here, secondly, the existence of local glass recipes, and, finally, the mutual influence of their own practical experience and the experience of Byzantine masters.
In the 12th century, Old Russian glassmaking, centered on Kyiv, actively spread to other East Slavic regions, where it occupied a prominent place. Initially, it was the production of smalts of an extremely rich color palette, including “golden”, to decorate with mosaics erected monumental Christian churches in Kyiv, Novgorod, Polotsk, Chernigov and other cities. The production of "end" glass was also established, which gradually replaced mica windows in rich houses. Although even later, in the 17th century, in Moscow royal palaces in Kolomenskoye and Izmailovo, along with glass "windows", mica ones continued to be preserved.
Another important part of the Old Russian glass production was the production of hand-blown glassware by the craftsmen of Kyiv, which testifies to the high level of glassmaking of that time. In addition, in the XI-XIII centuries in many ancient Russian cities - Kyiv, Novgorod, Smolensk, Staraya Ryazan, Polotsk, Chernigov and other places - the manufacture of various women's jewelry - multi-colored beads, bracelets, temporal rings and rings, which were successfully competed with imported beads and beads, which existed here since the 8th-9th centuries. In this regard, the testimony of an Arab traveler of the late 10th century is interesting that imported beads were extremely expensive and fortunes were given for it. Buying these necklaces for their wives, "husbands went bankrupt, paying from 15 to 20 kopecks in silver for each bead."
Studies by Russian scientists prove that even a century before the invasion of Batu, the development of Russian crafts, including glassmaking, reached a high level. As you know, Kievan Rus by this time was a powerful state, the princes of which were related to many royal courts of Europe. Foreigners called it "the country of cities, crafts and arts." However, the heavy yoke of the Golden Horde, the brutal destruction of cities, the hijacking of masters for several centuries interrupted such a successful economic development ancient Russian state. Only in the 15th century, forgotten crafts, including glassmaking, gradually begin to revive. In the former places - in the wooded regions of the Chernihiv region - the activity of glass workshops is resumed, in which, as in Europe, a variety of hand-blown household utensils are made. From here, from the "Cherkasy" lands, from small craft workshops during the 15th - early 17th centuries, a wide range of ordinary, ordinary glass of "simple matter", as it was called, "green" and "blue WATER" was exported. They take him to the new center of Russia - to the Muscovite state, as well as to Veliky Novgorod, Smolensk and other Russian cities.
Over time, the activities of small Cherkassy artisan guts, although numerous, could not satisfy the growing demand for glass products of the Moscow State, which was actively expanding trade relations with Western Europe. At the beginning of the 17th century, through the Hanseatic trade union, the port of Arkhangelsk and Veliky Novgorod began to receive fabulously expensive "Vinitsa" glass with colored filigree, which had already conquered all of Europe; merchants brought outlandish mirrors, which grooms willingly gave to brides as a wedding gift. A large number of glass beads arrived, made not without the influence of Venetian glassmakers. Excavations carried out in last years on the territory of Moscow, testify to the widespread existence of glass luxury items. Glassware at the beginning of the 17th century was used at the royal court, in royal pharmacies and in state drinking establishments - “kruzhny yards” (“circles”) for “placement of trial and exemplary wine”.
In the 17th century, with the strengthening of the Muscovite state, glassmaking entered a new production stage. Increasing demand for a variety of glass - household and luxury - lead to the need to create their own glass production. As a result, already in the first half of the 17th century, its own glass production appeared near Moscow - “the first glass factories were started. In 1634, with the permission of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich near Moscow, in the village of Dukhanino, Dmitrovsky district, the Swede E. Koyet began the construction of the first Russian glass factory. The plant was opened in 1639 and produced apothecary utensils and window glass. Later, in 1668, in the village of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Izmailovo, near Moscow, by his decree, a now state-owned factory was started up, also of a manufactory type, but larger and closer to the capital, producing products "about the everyday life of the great sovereign." And indeed, the plant lived up to its purpose, releasing a huge assortment of household utensils for the king and his entourage. These products were richly decorated, in accordance with the new European influences - gilding, polishing and engraving.
Venetian glassmaking, which created a whole trend in Europe in the 17th century - Facon de Venise, was also reflected in the products of the “figurative business of the Izmailovsky plant. For the first two decades, foreign "glass" craftsmen, called "Vinitsytsy", who were immigrants from the Czech Republic, Germany, Holland and the Baltic countries, worked in Izmailovo. It was they who transferred their experience and skills, which had developed under the influence of Venetian glassmaking, to Russian soil. So, the name of the figure master "of the Dutchman Indrik Lerin is known, who worked at the Izmailovsky plant practically from its foundation to the transfer to the Apothecary Department and whose activities are associated with a number of "cracker" cups.
Products of "figurative business" - "glasses long", in a sazhen" and "amusing cups" - among the huge variety of products of the Izmailovsky plant stood out especially. These products include the rarest goblets with "secrets" - a system of hidden pipes, which made it possible to unexpectedly pour a fountain on a person drinking at that moment. Such goblets were decorated with rich plastic decor: molded and blown figures of birds, horses, deer, rams, various flowers and leaves, which brings them closer to the products of Venetian masters. Similar products with "secrets", common in Europe as early as the 17th century under the influence of Venice, also came to the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in Russia, where all kinds of "joking" fun were extremely loved and widespread.
Speaking about the figured glass of the Izmailovsky plant, it should be noted that Venetian glassmaking, which gave impetus to the development in Europe of a whole direction in the "Venetian style", the so-called faconde Venise with its developed plastic system of shaping, it was extremely in tune with the traditions of Russian folk plastic art of the 16th-17th centuries.
The Izmailovsky plant played a huge role in the development of Russian artistic glassmaking in the 17th century and had a guiding influence on the subsequent course of its development. The craftsmen of the Izmailovsky and state-owned Vorobyevsky factories, who later worked in Yamburg and Kyiv (at the glass factory founded there in 1720 by decree of Peter I), transferred to new places the secrets of glass craftsmanship that they had developed at the "sovereign" factory for 30-40 years.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the St. Petersburg region became the center of glass production, where the newly rebuilt capital consumed a huge amount of glass. But the transfer of glass production to a new location was not just a geographical movement. In the general process of the programmatic “Europeanization” of Russia during the time of Peter the Great, one can also speak of the development of a new stage in Russian artistic glassmaking: a reorientation from Venetian glassmaking to Central European glassmaking. First of all, this was expressed in the formation of a Russian school of engraving, akin to European, in particular Bohemian. This process began in Izmailovo, then at the Yamburg factories of A. Menshikov, and in the middle of the 18th century it reached its peak at the St. Petersburg factory.
In the next century and a half - until the beginning of the 20th century - the products of the Imperial Glass Factory, executed according to the designs of the largest architects and the hands of the best Russian masters, adorned the interiors of numerous metropolitan palaces and country residences of members of the imperial family and the highest aristocracy, striking with their splendor and perfection. The Imperial Glass Factory, which has become a leading enterprise and a kind of artistic laboratory for private enterprises, was on a par with the largest factories in Europe, bringing glory to Russian glassmaking.
The great Mikhailo Lomonosov made an invaluable contribution to the development of Russian artistic glassmaking. In the 40s of the XVIII century, as a result of numerous experiments in the laboratories of the Academy of Sciences, he developed an extensive recipe for colored glass. By permission of the Senate, M. Lomonosov received an interest-free loan of 4,000 rubles for five years and in 1754 built a glass factory, where "for the benefit and glory Russian Empire» launched the production of colored glass invented by him - one of the most complex types glass products. The plant produced a variety of colored products, smalts, and also developed a method for manufacturing "haberdashery" - beads and glass beads, a fashionable product that was not previously produced in Russia and came from abroad "at a cost of many thousands."
As for private glass production, since the 18th century, thanks to the protectionist policy of Peter I and his successors, who provided benefits to private manufacturers and protected them from foreign competition by increasing customs import duties and even banning the import of imported glass goods (since 1800), etc. ., the number of new factories increased rapidly. At the same time, in order to preserve forests in which “extreme need is”, government decrees of 1744, 1759, 1762 prohibited the construction of glass (as well as iron and wine) factories within a radius of 200 miles from Moscow and not closer than Yamburgsky district from St. Petersburg, and by decree of the Senate in 1754, the previously built factories were completely subject to destruction. However, despite these controversial measures, early XIX century, there were more than fifty glass factories, and in the first quarter of the century, according to the statement of 1814, there were already 146 glass factories. Of these, the largest number was in the Vladimir province - 22 factories, St. , Kyiv, Oryol and Ryazan - 8 each, Kaluga - 3, etc. These were mainly factories built by representatives of the noble classes and merchants on their estates. Merchants Maltsevs are known among the owners of factories. The Nemchinovs and the Bolotins, the noblemen Bakhmetevs and Orlovs Olsufevs and Poltoratskys, the Golitsyns and Yusupovs Panshin, the Menshikovs, the Nebolsins and others.
To mid-nineteenth century, with the development of capitalist relations, private business in the production of glass is activated, expanding the geography of its distribution not only in the European part of the empire (although mainly) but also in remote Siberian and Asian regions, amounting to 185 factories according to statistics in 1838, more than 1874 in 1874. 200. By the beginning of the First World War, the number of glass enterprises is already approaching four hundred. Thus, from the second half of XIX For centuries, Russia has become a major glass-producing country, providing glass products not only to the domestic market, but also to sales abroad.
And although not all of the numerous Russian glass factories of the 18th - early 20th centuries produced household and decorative glass, nevertheless, the products of these enterprises played a role essential role in the formation of the artistic level of domestic glassmaking in general. Imperial Glassworks and leading private enterprises were permanent members All-Russian and international art and industrial exhibitions of the 19th - early 20th centuries, where they invariably received the highest awards.